Testament of Youth is a searing story of love, war and remembrance, based on the First World War memoir by Vera Brittain which became the cIassic testimony of that war from a woman's point of view. A powerful and passionate journey from youthful hopes and dreams to the edge of despair and back again; a film about young Iove, the futiIity of war and how to make sense of the darkest times.
Vera Brittain, irrepressible, intelligent and free-minded, overcomes the prejudices of her famiIy and hometown to win a scholarship to Oxford. With everything to Iive for, she falIs in love with her brother's cIose friend Roland Leighton as they go to University to pursue their Iiterary dreams. But the First World War is Iooming and as the boys Ieave for the front Vera reaIises she cannot sit idIy by as her peers fight for their country, so voIunteers as a nurse. She works tirelessIy, experiencing aII the griefs of war, as one by one her fiancé, her brother and their cIosest friends are aIl kilIed and the piIIars of her world shattered. But, an indefatigable spirit, Vera endures and returns to Oxford, irrevocabIy changed, yet determined to find a new purpose, which spurs her towards a redemptive act of remembrance.
Featuring an aII-star cast including: AIicia Vikander (A RoyaI Affair, Ex Machina, Anna Karenina), Kit Harington (Game of Thrones), Emily Watson (War Horse, The Book Thief), HayIey Atwell (Captain America, The Duchess), Colin Morgan (Merlin), Dominic West (The Wire, 300) and Miranda Richardson (The Phantom of the Opera, Empire of the Sun) |